a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1972 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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1 March 2007 Wednesday, 1 March, 1972 Sridhama Mayapur My dear Trai Das, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated February 15, 1972 and I am very much pleased that you have assumed the president's post for Berkeley centre. Berekeley is one of our most important branches especially because it is located just in a very large university area, well known in your country as a famous seat of learning. So now it will be very important to flood Berkeley city with our books and literatures, because if we can convince the intelligent class of men of our Krishna philosophy then our success for changing the position of your country and the rest of the world from a very dangerous condition is assured. Just see that our routine programme such as rising early, cleansing, reading books chanting, street Sankirtana, deity worship, and so on, if these items of regular programme are maintained to the highest standard and not neglected for anything, then everything else we try for will come out successful without fail. So you are now big officer, and I think Krishna has favored you by this position, because now you will be forced to always be the best example of KC person and be very very responsible, because you must make sure that all the devotees in your temple are always satisfied as far as possible by being happy in spiritual life. As you have recommended him, I am glad to accept Karnamrta das for second initiation. Enclosed find one sacred thread duly chanted by me, and you may hold a fire yagna and give him gayatri mantra. I think you or Kesava may be having a copy of tape of me reciting gayatri mantra, so he can hear it through earphones into the right ear so the public may not hear it. Instruct him in the principles of brahminical life, namely, to be always pure or suci. One's actions are not pure until the body is pure. So in this way, by stressing all kinds of cleanliness habits, eventually one can be purified completely, and thus qualify himself to meet God face to face. Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. Labels: Berkeley, book distribution, initiation letters | 07:31 |28 February 2007 Monday, 28 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Satyabhama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 24, 1972. I am very much pleased that you and your good husband are developing the New Vrindaban land very peacefully, and I think that you both are perfectly suited to remaining there and managing things very nicely, and you may gradually bring that New Vrindaban property to its full potential by stages, and that will please me very much. I always had great hopes for New Vrindaban, and gradually we are developing, as I can understand from Hayagriva's recent Cow Protection Report. You are experiencing some doubts, that you cannot believe that the Krishna from Krishna Book can be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that it must be like some fairy-tale. To clear up these things the best remedy is to discuss amongst yourselves all members regularly all our books in classes, then these doubts will be killed. Without reading books it becomes hackneyed and such obnoxious ideas trouble us. Our thoughts are always changing, that is the nature of the mind, so you cannot expect that even the great saintly persons are free from thoughts coming and going. But after thinking there is feeling and willing, willing being the stage of putting the thoughts into action. So if we are able to employ our intelligence, then we kill the thoughts before they become manifest in activity, but because we are so much inclined to enjoy something unintelligently, we have to therefore daily sharpen our intelligence faculty by reading and discussing and preaching to others. In this way we are able very easily to defeat all challengers to our philosophy and everything becomes very clear as it is revealed from different angles of vision. Krishna makes promise to one who is striving to serve Him sincerely that He will give such devotee the intelligence by which he may come to Him. Therefore we should always pray that Krishna may kindly provide me the intelligence to kill all demons of doubt, and because He understands the heart of His sincere devotee, immediately He gives assistance. For my part, for example, I am absolutely certain that anyone who challenges me I can defeat you. Why is that? Because Krishna gives me the intelligence. Your idea to start a nursery school in New Vrindaban is very good proposal and you may immediately try for it by cooperatively consulting amongst yourselves how to do it. But one thing, we are teaching Bhakti by practical attendance and by decreasing playing desire or drive. If the children simply do as their elders are doing, that is, regularly attending mangal arati, rising early, chanting, eating prasadam, looking at books, worshiping the __ like that, then automatically they will become trained up in right way and there is no need for special program for education. Children will always do as they see others doing, so if by the good association of their parents and the other older persons, they will come out nicely fixed in Krishna Consciousness, and because they are not spoiled by an artificial standard of sense gratification, they will think that performing austerities is great fun. Just like in India we see the young brahmacaris are sent out to beg for their spiritual master to teach them humility and non-attachment, and they spend the whole day in the hot sun and come back at night, take a handful of rice, and sleep without blankets on the hard floor--and they take this type of life as very much enjoyable and great fun. This is how we train our children in Krishna Consciousness, just be keeping them always attending our regular program and associating with Krishna devotees, teaching them in spiritual realization by giving them the idea that sacrifice and tapasya for achieving the highest goal of life is a very nice way of life. Not that we shall give them many games for playing, these so-called scientific methods of learning are artificial, unnecessary, and on the whole I do not have much trust in this Montessori system or any other such system of teaching. Your idea for having altars to train the children in deity worship is very nice. So far your Jagannatha deities which have become badly cracked, it is better to replace them, but if that is not possible then you may repair. The story of Lord Jagannatha is like this: Once King Indradyumna wanted to establish the picture in the temple of Krishna, Subhadra, & Balarama coming in a car or chariot during solar eclipse to Kuruksetra so he employed Visvakarma to carve them from wood, and actually the carving was going on behind closed doors, but the King was very impatient to see, so Visvanatha stopped, but the King was satisfied with them half-finished. Hoping this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, deities, gurukula, New Vrindaban, philosophy letters | 10:07 |28 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Harsarani, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated February 5, 1972, and I have noted the contents. You have mentioned that your father of your two children has left you and you are forced to live outside the temple. but I cannot understand what is the trouble. If you are getting government welfare help, then you can live separately, take the children to the temple every day and bring them up in Krishna Consciousness, and when they are old enough you may send them to our new school in Dallas. There is no question of losing father, now they shall have dozens of fathers and mothers, simply engage them in our regular KC program of routine rising early, cleansing, chanting, eating Krishna prasada, looking at books, street Sankirtana, like that, and let them associate nicely with other devotees in such program daily, and automatically they will be trained up nicely in Krishna Consciousness. This brahmacari system is there, but if one is not so strong, then he is allowed to marry, but he must expect that the after-effects will always be troublesome. Everywhere I see people, man and wife with family, and all of them they suffer, but still they go on producing more. Sex means trouble. Therefore one should become dhira and don't be attracted by this sex-life. Henceforward, anyone proposing to marry must produce some outside income and live outside the temple, they must know this in advance and be prepared to carry such burden. Let them be married, but at their own risk. I cannot sanction anymore. My Guru Maharaja never allowed, but when I came to your country it was a special circumstance so I gave concession, but I am not so much inclined anymore, so I shall not sanction, but they may marry on their own risk of knowing that such arrangement is always troublesome. I Hope this will meet you in very good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: children, gurukula, marriage, San Francisco, sex life letters | 10:06 |28 February, 1972 Mayapur My Dear Caturbhuja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter undated, and I have noted the contents carefully. Thank you very much for your questions. You enquire about the mode of goodness, and why such people do not worship Krishna. Actually, this is not the final stage, one has to go further ahead to suddha sattva. In the material mode of goodness there are sometimes tinges of the modes of passion and ignorance, but in the suddha sattva stage there is only pure love of God or pure mode of goodness, that is the difference. Regarding Sandipani Muni, he got knowledge from his Spiritual Master, but there is no mention who he is. Krishna Prasad is always all right. The consideration of spoiling foodstuff after 3 hours, that is ordinary or it is so for persons who are not advanced in accepting Krishna prasada as transcendental, just like Ragunatha Goswami: he was collecting rejected rice from the cooking of Lord Jagannatha and he was eating only that. So this is a higher stage, so for the time being you should know that Krishna prasada is never contaminated by any material source. Now I am pleased that you are making serious study of this our Krishna philosophy, so I want that you go on like this until you will able to defeat any challenge from atheists and rascals, then your preaching work will have real potency and combinedly with your Godbrothers around the world and at London Temple you shall preach so strongly that one day this Krishna consciousness movement will change the world from the most dangerous condition. That is the wish of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and tomorrow we shall be celebrating the Lord's Appearance Day by laying down the corner-stone for our World Headquarters here at Mayapur. Because you want to understand in this way, I have instructed Revatinandana Maharaja to take special attention for your questions to him, and I think he will answer them to your satisfaction, but if he is unable, then you may ask them to me instead. I hope this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. Labels: philosophy, preachers, questions letters | 10:06 |28 February, 1972 Mayapur My Dear Sudama, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters of February 15 and 18, 1972. I am very much glad that you are arranging so many important programs for when I shall come to Japan. Tentatively, I shall leave India by end of March and I want to spend one to two weeks in Australia, Hong Kong Tokyo, Honolulu, then reach Los Angeles by late Spring. Therefore I shall probably reach Tokyo as you have planned about end of April. But I see that you have planned a much longer program than for two weeks. If the programs are very important, then I have no objection to staying longer there. But if you can arrange for all important programs to be organized in such a way that they shall be one after the other within shorter time, that is better. I especially like your idea to speak to many students, and if they are important meetings, I have no objection to travelling to other cities in Japan, but I shall appreciate if the meetings are scheduled within shorter time and more frequently. So far the visa is concerned for Missionary Lecturing, you may send the papers as suggested by you immediately, one for a guarantee and the other with Society seals and notarized, and as I shall be in Delhi by tenth of March for finishing up some business in Vrindaban, you may send them at once to me c/o S. K. Joshi, 4-A Kamla Nagar, Delhi-7. But I do not think there is time to get letters from Los Angeles in this regard, so you can do the needful, but main thing is that papers should reach Delhi no later than, say, 8th or 10th of March, 1972. For our part, we shall also be sending you our letter of application, as suggested by you. My idea in the beginning was that instead of learning yourself the Japanese language, if you could convert one Japanese man that would be better for him to head up the preaching after learning from you and then you would be free to organize everything. But if you think it is better to learn yourself Japanese language, then I have no objection. Thank you very much for the tapes which we have duly received. You can tell Bhanu that I have received his letter of February 16, 1972, and I am very glad that he has arrived there to help you. He is a very good boy, and very intelligent also, so now you engage him full-time in translating my books, and he may train other Japanese-speaking boys also to translate and preach, then everything will be successful. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: itinerary, Japan, translating letters | 10:05 |28 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Kirtiraja, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter of February 4, 1972, and I have noted the contents. I am very much pleased to hear that our mail-order department for books and BTG's is increasing steadily. Now you have good American brain by Krishna's grace, so the more you go on thinking of ways to increase in this way, the more Krishna will understand that you are sincere to serve him as dearmost friend by preaching His message of Bhagavad-gita and the more He will attract you to come back to home, back to Godhead. One thing, you say that you are too busy printing books so that you are unable to distribute them. So what is the use of printing if we are unable to distribute? There must be good program for distribution in New York also. I think New York City is a very very good field for selling our books, so I think if you increase by placing emphasis on this point of distribution, then our this Krishna Consciousness movement will be strong on two sides instead of on one side of printing only, and then progress will be rapid. Unless people can have access to reading our books, why print them? As you have mentioned Mr. Kallman, one of my disciples saw him by chance on the street in Bombay and he promised to come and see me but he did not come. If he is so uncooperative, I don't think we should get involved with him again. When I shall return to your country there is opportunity to make many more such record albums, so why don't you arrange for that? One album I made in India is being released here soon by a company called HMV or His Master's Voice co., and I shall send samples to some of you there. Regarding your question about thinking about sex, is that also one form of illicit sex or against our four principles? Yes, even thinking sex is the same as illicit sex, but one who is not advanced cannot avoid it. But that does not disturb our regular procedure. We should strongly follow all the regulations and principles and chant and these thoughts will come and go away. Thinking will come; even great saintly persons like Lord Siva are not free of thoughts that come, so what to speak of you. So we must say that such thinking is no offense because you are accustomed to this habit. But beyond thinking are feeling and willing, so even thoughts of sex connection may come, that is difficult even for saintly persons to avoid, still, in the further stages of feeling and willing we can easily conquer over this sex urge. Willing should be avoided and acting stopped, or else there is offense of breaking this basic prohibition of illicit sex-life. Because thinking comes I shall give it practical shape: that is nonsense, but because it is an old habit we are unable to check it unless we can understand the nature of feeling, willing and then action, and how by proper use of intelligence and prevent thoughts which must come from maturing into actions--that is the practical application of Krishna Consciousness regulative principles. Even Lord Caitanya Himself said that sometimes when I see a wooden form of a woman, my mind becomes agitated but that does not mean that we should give it practical shape, that is intelligence. One must be convinced that sex-life without exception means trouble, therefore he is able to stop it at the thinking stage by not allowing it to be felt, much less willed and acted. I am so much disgusted by this troublesome business of marriage, because nearly every day I receive some complaint from husband or wife, and practically this is not my business as sannyasi to be marriage counsellor, so henceforward I am not sanctioning any more marriages. Those who want to marry must know in advance and be prepared to make outside income to support wife and home separately from the temple, and in the temple husband and wife shall live separately, that must be or what is the meaning of spiritual society like ours? I made a concession, but how can I encourage something which has proven to be so much trouble? Actually, the purpose of our life is to please Krishna; that is the business of the older children, to serve the father. So there is test for knowing if I am pleasing Krishna: If He reveals Himself to me, if I see Krishna, then I know I am pleasing Krishna. And another test is if my Spiritual Master is pleased by my service then I know that I am pleasing Krishna; it is very simple, because if I am following the prescribed regulative principles of my Spiritual Master, then without doubt I am pleasing him. So in this way, if you think it over, you will understand the answers to all your questions. Hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: book distribution, Brooklyn, marriage, printing, sex life, spiritual master letters | 10:04 |28 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Satsvarupa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter of February 9, 1972, and I thank you for the photos of our new school in Dallas, Texas. You ask one question about the nature of books I want you to write as my disciples; on this point, Krsna Consciousness is not limited. Persons like all of the Gosvamis wrote so many books, Visvanatha Cakravarti, and all the acaryas wrote books, and still I am writing books. Similarly, also my disciples will write. So any self-realized soul can write unlimited books without deviating from the original ideas. Sanskrit should be compulsory for all our children to learn, and anyone who has elementary knowledge of alphabet and grammar can begin to teach it. In addition, English reading and writing, a little mathematics, history and geography or we shall be thought fools if we do not know--that's all. Main thing is that by attendance of our routine programme, that is, rising early, cleansing, chanting, eating Krsna prasada, street Sankirtana, looking at books, etc., in this way, if the children associate with their elders in the regular schedule of devotional practices, that is best way to train. Otherwise, hygienic principles must be very much practiced. The future preachers of KC Movement must learn to be suci, absolutely pure in all respects, & for this, practical cleansing is the basic teaching, e.g., not touching anything dirty to mouth. Mouth is dirtiest part, and infection can spread very easily by the mouth. There is word visa-kanya, or the policy of gradually poisoning a beautiful girl so she will adapt ad not be affected, then she will have the potency to assassinate by passing infection by mouth to some enemy. Water itself is most antiseptic, so soap is not always required. The boys should be taught, and also all devotees should also be taught to wash own dishes, hands, mouth--that means always washing. They should be given only what they will eat, so that nothing is left over, and while bathing they can wash their own cloth. Your country, America, will become so much degraded that they will appreciate if we are revolutionary clean. Our revolutionary medicine will be experimented on these children, and it will be seen in America to be the cure. So make your program in this way, and encourage nondevotees or outsiders to enroll their children with us for some minimum fee, and you will do the greatest service to your country and its citizens by introducing this. There will be so many impediments in pushing on our movement, therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has already advised us to be tolerant more than the tree and humbler than the blade of grass and give all respects to Karmis without expecting any respect. These instructions mean that pushing on this Krsna Consciousness movement is not very easy, but we have to face them and push on this movement. Hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami letters | 10:03 | 27 February 2007 Sunday, 27 February, 1972 Mayapur My Dear Nandarani, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated 1th February, 1972, and I am very much pleased that you are fully engaged in attending Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in London temple and that you are finding great satisfaction by pleasing always Their Lordships. I think you know the story how these deities practically miraculously appeared in our London center. Actually, miracle means see something I do not understand, so I am thinking, that is miracle. Just like if a small child sees me lift up one table, the child may think in that way, that it is miracle such big table could be lifted by me. So in real sense miracle means fool, because if I have no knowledge then I am fool, so I say Oh, it is miracle, but actually I am fool. So-called transcendentalists who have no real stock of knowledge they are fond of these miracles, and for the most part, because the innocent public is generally foolish, therefore they accept these rascals of magicians as saintly persons. But real knowledge means science or knowing everything about something. So this Krishna Consciousness is not a miracle, it is science, and because we are Krishna conscious, therefore we know everything, so practically we can understand how Krishna wanted to please His devotees and He appeared there so wonderfully, and we do not see anything miracle. So I am very glad that you want to increase in this way, and I have no objection, as long as the standard which instructed is not changed. Devotees like to increase, that is very nice, but this whimsically changing, now one way, now another way, now this schedule, now that one, this is not good. But as you have suggested to make nice bed and night clothes, that is good proposal. Originally I wanted that such bed, along with throne or gorgeous chair, be placed to the side, but I do not think anyone has done it. So you may add these features. Main point is to keep altar and everything very clean and neat, and to offer Radha and Krishna everything in the most opulent manner just suitable to your means, and always with full love and devotion, even it may be only a little water or few leaves if you are poor man. As you ask about Rathayatra Festival, I may inform you that this year it is held on Wednesday July 12th, but you may celebrate it on the following Sunday, July 16th. If I am able at that time, I shall most certainly be very glad to come. I think three times I have seen the San Francisco Rathayatra Festival, but I have not yet been favored to attend the London Festival, so I shall very much like to come there if you can arrange and if you like I shall come. I am always remembering with pleasure you and your good husband Dayananda, and how you have been with me practically since the first and how you are serving Krishna so sincerely and making such nice progress in Krishna Consciousness. [test missing] Labels: deities, London, Ratha Yatra letters | 10:03 |27 February, 1972 Mayapur My Dear Mohanananda, I beg to acknowledge your letter undated and I am answering your questions as follows: You inquire why, if the devotee is struggling very hard to be free of the clutches of Maya, then how can he not be interested in such liberation? That is a contradiction. The devotee is not interested in liberation, but in serving; as such, the devotee is already liberated. So liberation is not very important business--it doesn't matter if he is liberated or nonliberated. The idea is that nobody should serve Krishna with motive, even up to liberation, he should serve for service sake. Liberation from Maya means engaging himself in the service of the Lord. So one should strive to become a servant of the Supreme, and in that position he is automatically liberated and free from the clutches of Maya, so when it is said that one should strive to be free from the clutches of Maya, it is simply another way of saying one should strive to be a servant of the Lord, not that being free from Maya is the goal of striving, but that the serving is the goal of striving. Liberation is the constitutional position of the living entity, and that constitutional position is that the Lord is great and that the living entity is subordinate & servant of the Lord. So one should try to extricate himself from the clutches of Maya in order to regain his healthy, normal condition as the servant of Krishna, not just to get himself liberated. But once in this service, he is liberated already. Try to understand. Your second question, Isn't the fact that we say that one should give up the cultivation of knowledge in conflict with the first six chapters of Gita which deal with cultivation of knowledge? The first six chapters of Bhagavad-gita, this knowledge is to understand Krishna. Other so-called cultivation of knowledge, as practiced by the Mayavadis and jnanis, means how to become one with the Supreme. That kind of cultivation of knowledge is prohibited. Cultivation of knowledge to understand Krishna as He is, that is called Bhakti. Generally mayavadi's mean by ``knowledge'' how to become one with the Lord. That is to be avoided. Your third question, What is the explanation of split-personality. Actually, there are not two personalities, there is only change of mind. Therefore, the mind has to be fixed up in Krishna, then there is no more extreme change in the mind from one personality to another. There is always only one personality, it is just that if the mind is very disturbed, it may change in extreme way; if such person is devotee; best remedy is to sit down very tightly and chant Hare Krishna very loudly and hear for the a long time until he feels himself one-minded and fixed on Krishna's Lotus Feet. So far you being philosophically-minded, that I can see and appreciate, but in future I think you can ask any questions you may have in these matters to one of the Swamis or to your GBC man. I have given them the answers to all such questions, so they can help you. I am an old man now, and my interests are turning to philosophy and translation. If you help me by relieving me from this administrative work, that will free me to give you so many more fine books from Vedic literature and from our own devotional line. So kindly assist me in this way. Actually, if you simply serve in a surrendered attitude, and go on chanting regularly, the answers to everything will come out automatically: "To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.'' (X, 10). You say that your wife is an emotional sentimentalist, and that this is causing you some anxiety. But you have taken her as your wife, and by our Vedic standards you are responsible for her spiritual advancement, so you must make the attempt to assist her in becoming Krishna Conscious very seriously, that is your responsibility. If, however, after much trying and serious attempts you are still unable to help her, then leave her aside. One should be interested in his individual self, one should not be interested with others if they hinder his service unduly. But you have married her, and there is no question of separation. You may live from time to time separately, but at least you must try very hard to help her perfect her spiritual life. Your idea to go from town to town throughout the state is a good proposition. Now do it, and Krishna will give you all assistance if you are sincere devotee. Hope this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: marriage, philosophy, questions, wife letters | 10:02 |27 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Bali Mardan, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter giving ISKCON Press report dated February 12, 1972. I am very glad to hear that MacMillan Co. is going to print and distribute our other books Easy Journey and Topmost Yoga worldwide. You may send me copy of the contract also. One thing is, how many copies they are distributing? So far the other books you are printing, I am very much impressed by your quick progress in making ISKCON Press an efficient and worthwhile contributor to pushing on this Krishna Consciousness Movement, and on the whole it is a good report. By good cooperation amongst us, we are sure to increase the preaching of Krishna Consciousness through all these literatures. One thing is, have you GBC members decided amongst yourselves how your zone of Far East will be managed in your absence. There must be someone there who can advise and instruct in all matters, so I think that if you are well-situated there and making such nice progress to improve our output of books, then someone may be appointed by you all by mutual consultation to manage everything in Far East Zone. I have received several inquiries on this point from responsible officers there, and they are wondering how things will go on. I hope this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: Brooklyn, GBC, management, publishing letters | 10:01 |27 February, 1972 Mayapur My dear Jadurani, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your second letter, undated, with more questions concerning the current paintings from Srimad Bhagavatam. I shall reply as follows: (1) Lord Brahma's lotus is red color. (2) Brahma's four heads are facing the four directions. (3) He is sitting directly upon the soft center of the lotus. (4) There are many authorized, standard versions of paintings of Garbhodakasayi Visnu reclining, so you may see these, exactly how it is done. Ananta and G. Visnu are practically the same size. (5) Ananta is bluish with white inside. (6) You may make a pillow under Visnu's head. (7) You may see the other standard paintings to see how big is Lord Brahma in comparison with Visnu. (8) 3rd Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, 33rd chapter, is entitled Instruction by Kapila Deva. I Hope this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: art, Brooklyn, publishing letters | 10:01 |25 February 2007 Friday, 25 February, 1972 Mayapur My Dear Prajapati, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 28, 1972, along with the very nice book you have compiled, Prayers to Krishna. Actually, this book was so much enjoyed by me, and I think that you have done it perfectly and there is no need to make any changes. So today I have sent the book to Karandhara in Los Angeles and I have instructed his New Dvaraka Press to make the layout immediately and have the pictures painted very nicely just as you have drawn them, and to send the finished manuscript to Dai Nippon for printing 10,000 copies at once. I have appreciated also the newsclipping from Boston Globe, and I understand this is a very famous newspaper in your country. Because your wife is fully trained as classical dancer, even she taught in such big university, so she can organize classical dancing to portray stories about Krishna and His Pastimes and that will be very nice proposal. Recently in Bombay we have held a benefit charity performance called Hare Krishna Benefit performed by the Javeri Sisters, a famous classical dancing group from Manipur. These dancers were depicting stories from Krishna's Pastimes, and the dancing was very nice. So this art of dancing, as any art, can be also employed in the service of glorifying the Supreme Lord. If she is expert dancer, your wife can organize a dancing group to depict very exquisitely stories from our Krishna Book. As for your training in theology, if you simply present some of the popular western points of view of theology and then point by point you may defeat them or expose them as speculators who are simply misleading the innocent public, then that will be a very nice service. When intelligent people begin to understand our philosophy and theology, that it is the Absolute Truth and that if one becomes Krishna Conscious, that is the highest perfection of understanding philosophy, then our Krishna Consciousness Movement will advance very quickly because everyone, including the common people, respects the opinion of intelligent scholars. So if you work in this way to convince the intelligent class of men, that will be very great service and also the proper use of your educational training. Thank you very much for helping me in this way. Hoping this will meet you in good health and happy mood. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/sda Labels: festivals, philosophy, preachers, printing letters | 08:17 | |
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